Good for them!

Korean-Americans are not far behind them, I believe.

https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/articles/chazen-global-insights/singular-population-indian-immigrants-america
 

A Singular Population: Indian Immigrants in America
 

But the most striking distinction may be their economic status: Indian-American households have the single highest income level of any group in the country — more than twice as high as the general US population.

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/korean-immigrants-united-states-2017
 

Korean Immigrants in the United States
 

In 2017, half of the Korean immigrants (ages 5 and older) reported having limited English proficiency, compared to about 48 percent of the total foreign-born population. However, slightly more Korean immigrants reported speaking only English at home (19 percent) than the total immigrant population (16 percent).

That’s what I have been telling all along, Dr. Ohn!

Soon after I started my full commitment to CMC (Christian Medical College) of Vellore located in the Tamil Nadu region of India - THE best vascular surgery program throughout India! – from early ‘2,000 through the regular visit, every three years, till lately to help my protégé Edwin Steven to build the vascular malformation program, I learned this ‘Incredible India’ and shocked to confirm the rumor of ‘jumbo jet full immigrants of IT specialty leaving from nearby Bangalore every DAY to come to the States!!!

Yes, I screamed to let others know ‘(Asian) Indians are coming’ whenever I had a chance and amazed with their unlimited human resources no other countries could afford. Indeed, India is NOT one country but one huge continent with a garden variety of casts and cultures and also languages and even different alphabets. So, English was used as their pivotal baseline language/tool to break these many dialects of their own language, and indeed, Indians didn’t waste British ruling for 300 years to maximize the benefits of English, I was so impressed to learn- for example, one couple I had dinner while I was at Cochin, Kerala, spoke English to communicate between them because the wife was a Bengali girl with different language-.

So, Indians do not have any hurdle of 'language barrier' like Korean or Japanese to merge to this new world immediately with no restriction by the language/English. Although I intentionally point out/caution them to speak slowly since ‘Indian’ English is quite different from the ordinary(?) American/British English with odd/strange accents whenever I have a chance during the international meeting, but they have full confidence to speak out with no hesitation, which annoys me infrequently through years.

Anyhow, NOT anymore ‘Indians are coming, but rather ‘Indians are all over!!!’. As said, if you know one jumbo jet-full Indians are coming to the U.S. every day from Bangalore for more than two decades, you will have no trouble accepting the fact that Indians are the Number One group of immigrants in this country now. So, ‘Indians are all over' and even two immediate neighborhood families are Indians working in the IT industry and two nearby former Korean restaurants are also becoming Indian restaurants. Besides, Lotte, a Korean supermarket first in our vicinity of Reston is now converted to an Indian supermarket as well!

Indeed, I do accept this reality with a mixed feeling, honestly a bit of jealousy mixed but at the same time I am really wondering all those crazy ‘English education fervor’ in Korea, starting from the childhood- kindergarten level? - for decades! Because, surprisingly, I see rather ‘deteriorating’, instead of improving, English usability among many Korean junior/young colleagues through their presentations during the international meetings in these days, believe it or not! On the contrary, I notice Japanese has shown a striking improvement including the attitude of conversation to overcome the linguistic liability of their own natural language structure like the Korean language.

As a matter of fact, through the last out of town trip in December 2019 to Chicago to deliver the lectures to Northwestern Vascular Symposium, before being grounded by the COVID crisis, I had such unique chance to share the dinner with a few Korean American surgeons of a new generation, five altogether, mostly born here in the U.S. and also fresh out of training/fellowship to settle in the vicinity. We had a long conversation in regard to their liability as a minority on their career including the different cultural backgrounds, etc. Meanwhile, I smelled quite a Korean influence on two gentlemen’s casual talking despite both were born in the U.S. with a bit of foreign accent, which disappointed me. There is no way to get rid of native language-based expression among the first generation like us but for the second generation, I don’t feel it would be ideal and regretfully their grown-up background must have influenced with no doubt.

Language? Yes, it has been emphasized as the second most important factor even among Korean custom: 신언서판 !!!!!

BB Lee

Korean doctors do not like Indian doctors in general. I have 

heard that Korean doctors were saying Indian doctors were somewhat deceitful. 
When I began my Anesthesia training at NYU in 1975, more than half of residents 

were Indian foreign graduates. They were not sly at all. They were hard-working, 

eager to learn, and most of all very smart. But some of them were not good to pass 

multiple choice exams.
 

Throughout my Anesthesia practice, I have encountered many Indian and Parkistani

doctors and I found them very smart. And they had good practice making a lot of money.

My daughter lives in the San Jose area where Silicon Valley is. Whenever I visit there,   I was 

swarmed by so many Indians. But I do not see an Indian town nearby even though a few Indian 

restraunts and groceries are wedged in Korean town in El Camino street in Sunnyvale. 
I suspect it is because of their English proficiency. It is a huge asset for them to get ahead 

in America. They compete in mainstream America whereas Koreans, Chinese and Vietnamese

are trying to live together in their own community where they can speak in their native tongue.

I have met a lot of Indian doctors during my training years. They are smart and friendly.

Because of that, basically, I never trusted them. They are too smart !! And that is their handicap.

They seem to have what is equivalent to our 엽전근성, the Indian 근성.

That tells us that we, both, came from the same poor societies.

Koreans are getting over the cursed habits, but they aren't.

They never deceived me just because I was never in a position to be close enough.

I hate their English accents. I can tell so easily. That's another handicap for the Indians.

Maybe, I shouldn't blame the Indians. It's just my honest feeling and confession.

We are not much different from each other in our past. They remind us of our old days.

똥 묻은 개가 흙 묻은 개를 흉보는 격...? Indian들을 보면, 불행했던 과거를 연상시킨다.

Doc, thanks for enlighting me on the Indians, a very unique people.

I've met a lot of them but never got into a deep relationship. I've never classified them by region.

I thought the northerners (like those Singhs) seemed more dignified and serious.

But I've never learned or will never learn the differences. My knowledge is very shallow.

Indians seem to speak better than us but I've never envied their accented English.

I will certainly try the Southern Indian dish someday. I will definitely ask the Indian server

if what I am ordering is southern or northern cuisine.

I will tell my wife that you did recommend it.

If anything goes wrong with my wife's dish, you will be fully responsible. ㅎ, ㅎ, ㅎ.

You are amazing as always, Prof. Lee! You seemed to know every culture in the planet.

Now I understand why Korean doctors have prejudice on Indian doctors. 

Glad you both enjoyed the sagas out of my penny-worthy (?) curiosity- indeed, I am always curious to the local history together with their foods wherever I go first time in particular like Uzbekistan or Kysgysztan so that before I set the visit especially to a new country, I always study their history intensely with the helps by the local colleagues and try to save three to four days whenever possible after the meeting to fulfill my curiosity to their local foods in particular unless I have to rush to leave/move from one country/meeting to another, back to back, which happened quite often though.

But India is a different story! I was fascinated to the history of Incredible India as well as their culture like Michael Wood so that whenever I visit to India through the last three decades - at least every three years, I visit to Vellore, Tamil Nadu to help CMC (Christian Medical College) group, the best team of vascular malformation in India, to solve the CVM problem cases (my protege, Edwin Steven is now the chair of surgery department as well!)-, I always set aside four to five days to travel around as they arrange for me before I leave India, mostly through the South India including Kerala region. Unfortunately, my wife dislikes Indian spice- too spicy to her weak stomach!- and especially the beggars on the street to make her feel so sad that I finally gave up to drag her around with me decades ago, after her third visits to India, and now I go to India all by myself in these days! So whenever I go to Vellore, I stay at their/CMC Alumni House for a week and they always bring their unique ice cream of Southern style even after the breakfast because they kno lolw I go crazy with their ice cream nowhere I could taste but in the South India.

BB Lee

I enjoyed all the enlightening conversations about Indian Americans.

I was in charge for Cardiology fellowship training at my institution for three decades,

and had 4 or 5 Indian American doctors, all of whom had 2 year training under my

direct tutoring in all aspects of Cardiology and went on a highly successful careers

with one of them became faculty member at University of Georgia.

We had lasting friendship for many years after their training under me.

One of them told me that the only time he was betrayed in business ventures was by

his own country men, and said he would rather make deals with other non- Indians like myself, Koreans.